Shoe lacing hook



March 27, 1962 s. K.YJOHNS 3,027,057

SHOE LACING HOOK Filed May 24, 1960 INVENTOR STANLEY/6 JUl/A/S BY/0W wATTORNEY 3,027,057 SHOE LACING HOOK Stanley K. Johns, Quebec City,Quebec, Canada, asslgnor to St. Lawrence Manufacturing Company, Inc.,Gifford, Quebec, Canada, a corporation of Quebec, Canada Filed May 24,196i), Ser. No. 31,390 3 Claims. (Cl. 223-113) This invention relates toa hook for lacing boots and shoes, for example, ice skating shoes.

It is necessary in donning boots and high shoes, such as ice skateshoes, to secure just the right amount of tension in the laces toproperly support the ankle but without having portions thereof so tightas to interfere with circulation. A tool for tightening and adjustingthe laces as the shoes are applied is a necessity.

ft times ice shoes are put on, Or the laces are adjusted, out of doorswhile the user wears heavy clothing including gloves or mittens. It isaccordingly necessary to provide a tool for this purpose which can beused even with heavy gloves or mittens and which can be carried in thepocket for use when required.

It is accordingly a principal object of this invention to provide alacing hook of light weight and great strength which is compact and canbe readily carried in the pocket.

It is a further important feature of the invention that the lacing hookcan be under adverse conditions, as, where the skater, for example, isencumbered with heavy clothing, including gloves or mittens, and wherethe hands may be to some extent numbed by cold so that control of thelacing tool is difficult.

The above and other objects of the invention will be readily understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the shoe lacing hook.

FIG. 2 is a bottom face view thereof.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views thereof, on the lines 3-3and 44 of FIG. 1, respectively.

PEG. 5 is a perspective view thereof, taken from above.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, there is shown a lacinghook indicated generally at 10. The hook comprises a shank portion 12, ahooked end 14, a handle 16 and a reinforcing and guide plate or disk 18.The entire unit is preferably formed in one piece by being molded fromresinous material, with or without reinforcing fibers such as glass.Each portion of the unit is specially shaped for ease of molding and toachieve maximum strength and usefullness with minimum weight.

Thus the shank portion 12 is gently curved in its extension from thedisk 18 to the hooked end 14. In cross section it is of inverted T-shape(FIG. 4-) with the cross bar of the T extending transversely of theshank as at 20 for reinforcing the same against side stresses. Theupright of the T constitutes the main body 21 of the shank, beingrelatively deep adjacent the disk 18 and of gradually reduced depth asit extends to the hooked end 14. The hook 22 extends downwardly from theshank, as viewed in FIG. 5, and is reversely bent, as at 23, to afford afirm grip on the shoe laces. The biting end is preferably formed as ablunt curved longitudinal knife edge, as indicated at 24.

The handle 16 is formed as a transverse pin or bar connected by a sturdyneck 26 to the guide plate 18. For lightness and economy the handle,when made of plastic, is preferably hollow since this providessufficient strength in the hook disclosed.

The plate or disk 18 serves an important function in that it is used inconjunction with the handle to support and manipulate the hook. Thus itis placed in close proximity to the handle bar. Its transversedimension,

nitc States atent ice herein sometimes referred to as thickness, ispreferably approximately the same as that of the shank and much lessthan the length of the handle 16. Its dimension in a vertical planeperpendicular to the axis of the handle, that is, its depth isconsiderably enlarged over that of the shank, portion 12 and handle 16so that it projects above and below the shank. As shown the disk has adepth substantially twice that of the adjacent shank portion. The disk18 is preferably round or disk-shaped to avoid projecting cornersalthough a square or other form with rounded corners would besatisfactory.

The disk 18 is so placed that its maximum vertical dimension (depth)will come between the fingers of the user who grasps the handle in hishand. This distance is approximately three-fourths of an inch for theaverage person. Its maximum vertical dimension depth is preferablybetween five-eighths of an inch and one inch (1"), or approximatelythree-fourths of an inch GA), to afford the necessary leverage formanipulating the hook but without becoming difficult if the user iswearing mittens.

The form of disk shown has been found to be particularly satisfactory.Thus the outwardly flanged exterior ring 28 provides a rugged connectionfrom the handle to the shank and provides satisfactory leverage forpositioning the hook. The interior web or disk 30 strengthens the hookagainst both tension and torsion.

It Will be understood the lacing hook herein described may be made ofvarious materials. For economy and usefullness it is preferred to formit of a high strength plastic or resinous material such as polystyrene,polyethylene, epoxy, etc. It has been found to be entirely satisfactoryto form the unit by injection molding it form high impact polystyreneresin. The unit may obviously be fabricated by the assembly of itsvarious parts or formed of metal or wood, as will be understood.

In the use of the device the user will normally grasp the handle 16within the first two fingers of the hand. The disk 18 will thus bepositioned between these first two fingers, permitting the user to turnand direct the hooked end exactly as required to contact and move thedesired strand of the shoe lace. This is easily possible with gloves, orwith mittens having a separate sheath for the first finger. It is alsopossible with many types of soft mittens since the disk 18 projectsbeyond the shank sufiiciently to be grasped between the first twofingers.

The combined hold of the fingers on the handle and the side pressureapplied on the disk serves three separate functions, that is, (a) thereis better control of the hook for turning the point to the exact anglerequired, (12) the spaced support at the handle and at the diskfacilitates moving the hooked end about the axis of the handle to theangle desired with the side pressure on the disk releasably holding thehook in the position to which it is moved and (c) the twisting andpulling force applied during use is divided between the handle and thedisk, an important factor in this light-weight article subjected tosubstantial forces at times.

A further functional advantage of the disk 18 is that the centralportion provides a tablet or surface on which may be applied the name ofthe supplier or of the skating resort or the like.

The particular construction here shown, while presently believed to bethe best form of device now known for the intended purpose, is set forthfor the purposes of illustration only, and not with any intention oflimiting the invention, whose scope is set forth in the claims appendedhereto.

I claim:

1. A unitary molded plastic lacing hook comprising a. shank terminatingat one end in a downwardly extending, reversely bent hook and at theother end in a transverse bar, constituting a handle, the shankincluding a reinforcing and guiding element adjacent said handle, ofsubstantially the thickness of said shank, formed as a smooth surfaceddisk of substantially the thickness of said shank and constituting anenlargement of said shank, the axis of said disk being substantiallyparallel to the axis of said handle bar.

2. A unitary plastic lacing hook comprising a shank, a downwardlyextending, reversely bent hook at one end thereof, a transverse bar,constituting a handle, at the other end thereof and a guide plate formedon said shank adjacent said handle, said shank being of inverted T-formation from the hook to the guide plate with a base, constituting thecross bar of the T, extending transversely of the shank, said guideplate including an exterior flange corresponding to the width of thebase of said shank.

3. The plastic lacing hook recited in claim 2, the interior portion ofsaid guide plate being a disk of substantially less thickness than saidexterior flange and suppoited by said flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS254,289 Dirkes Feb. 28, 1882 364,967 Sibley et al. June 14, 1887 687,137Druen Nov. 19, 1901 1,089,019 Swasey Mar. 3, 1914 1,540,810 Simon June9, 1925 1,615,125 Lespinasse Jan. 18, 1927 2,702,941 Hale Mar. 1, 19552,912,149 Stuard Nov. 10, 1959

